Chusetts



(No Model.)

L T. HOUGHTON & A. A. BARKER.

SNOW GUARD. No. 472,296. Patented Apr. 5,1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEwIs T. HOUGHTON AND ALBERT A. BARKER, 0F WORCESTER, MAssA- OHUSETTS.

SNOW-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,296, dated April 5, 1892. Application filed August 22, 1891. Serial No. 403,420. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, LEWIS T. I-IOUGHTON and ALBERT A. BARKER, both of the city and county of WVorcester, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snow-Guards; and we do hereby declare that the following is v a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in Which Figure 1 represents a plan View of part of a roof with our improved snow-guard applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section therethrough taken on line a a, Fig. 1, said figure, as well as all the following ones, being shown upon an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a detached front perspective view of one of,

said snow-guards. Figs. 4 and 5 are side and rear views thereof, respectively. Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the lower part of the guard, showing a modification of the snow-stop thereof. Figs? and 8 are similar. views to Fig. 4, except that in Fig. 7 the snowstop is represented as being made with a double instead of a single coil, while in Fig. 8 a triple conical coil is shown. Fig. 9 is a sectional plan of the device shown in Fig. 8, taken on line Z) Z), looking down, as indicated by the arrow in said figure. Fig. 10 shows a modification in the construction of the upper or fastening end of the guard; and Fig. 11, a back View of the bottom end thereof, showing another modification in the construction of the snow-stop.

Our invention relates to wire snow-guards; and it consists of an improvement in the construction of the snow-stops thereof, whereby the same may be braced or supported underneath against the roof when said guards are applied thereto, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

Heretofore snow guards of the class to which our invention relates have not, to our knowledge, been provided with any special means for bracing or supporting the snowstops thereof underneath, as aforesaid, against undue pressure from above, and consequently often become bent over out of shape by slaters and other workmen upon the roof and in other ways to such an extent as to impair their usefulness. To obviate this objection we provide said snow-stops with a firm solid brace underneath, formed integral therewith and produced by employing a longer piece of wire in their construction than is required for the formation of the snow-stop proper, and bending the same into such shape as may be required to obtain a solid bearing at one or more points in its length against the roof below said snow-stop when the guard is fitted and fastened in position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Having briefly stated the nature and purpose of our said invention, we will now proceed to describe it more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The part marked A is the shank; B, the pointed drive end; 0, the snow-stop proper, and D that portion of said snow-stop which acts as a brace thereto for supporting the same against downward pressure.

Inmaking the guard a piece of wire of the proper length and having one end preferably pointed is taken and bent near the pointed end at substantially at right angles to produce said drive end of the proper length,and is also bent at d in the opposite direction at the other end of the wire, thence around to form the loop 0 or snow-stop proper, leaving sufficient wire at said end to form the brace D aforesaid. In forming the brace after said loop is made the wire may be bent in various ways to accomplish the desired purpose-via,-

to obtain a bearing at one or more points against the roof when the guard is applied theretoand we therefore do not limit ourselves to any particular shape in effecting said result. We prefer, however, to simply form a short projection e at the base or terminus of the loop 0 substantially at right angles thereto and in line with the shank or body A of the guard, as is shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive; but, if desired, a second loop or coil 6', of equal diameter to the first one, may 9 5 be formed under the latter, with the aforesaid short downward projection thereon at its terminus, as shown in Fig. 7, or a similar construction with two additional loops e e in stead of one, and all of different diameters,

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with the short projection 011 the terminus of the bottom one, as shown in Figs. 8 and 0, may be employed without departing from the principle of our invention.

By the use of one or more extra coils or loops, as above described, it will be apparent that additional bearing-surfaces in line with the shank may be obtained, thereby affording a greater leverage for the snow-stop proper O, and consequently augmenting its strength and utility. It will also be observed that by the conical construction shown in Figs. 8 and 9 a greater snow-stoppin g surface is obtained. This construction is desirable in the larger sizes of guards.

Although, as previously stated, we prefer to use the short projection before alluded to, even when one or more extra loops are employed, it may be dispensed with when said construction is adopted, as is shown in Fig. 11, in which the extra coils D, formed integral with the shank A, serve as the desired result of obtaining a supporting brace or hearing against the roof. \Ve also reserve the rightto flatten the loop C, as is shown at fin Fig. 6, to produce a greater snow-stopping surface, or to make it in any other desired shape, and as the means of fastening the guard to the roof is not claimed as an especial feature in the construction we also reserve the rightto use an eye 9 in the end of the guard and a nail or other separate fastening device 71 as shown in Fig. 10, in lieu of the drive end B, formed integral with said guard, as previously described.

The esssential point we desire to cover, as hereinbefore stated, is the application of a brace or support below the snow-stop to a wire snow-guard. This is an important feature in this class of snow-guards, as it greatly enhances their strength and practical utility.

By thus constructing the same slaters and other workmen may obtain a safe and sure support thereon in moving about a roof to which they have been applied, as they are not liable to cripple or break down by any ordinary usage, and will withstand any pressure of snow liable to come upon them either as a dead-weight or by sudden impact, as in sliding from one section of a roof to another below.

hat we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A snow-guard made from a single piece of wire and comprising the following elements, viz: the shank A, the drive end B, projecting substantially at right angles from one end of said shank, the snow-stop O, projecting in an opposite direction to said drive end from the other end of the shank, and the brace or support D, formed by extending the wire from the base or terminus of said snow-stop and making the same of the proper shape to hear at one or more points against the roof when the guard is applied thereto, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A snow-guard consisting of a single piece of wire and comprising a shank A, adapted at one end to be attached to the roof of a building, and a snow-stop 0, consisting of a coilintegral with said shank and projecting at right angles, or nearly so, from its other end, said snow-stop being provided with a brace integral therewith and adapted to serve as a support to prevent said snow-stop from being bent from its proper position, as set forth.

LEWIS 'l. IIOUGIITON. ALBERT A. BARKER. Vitnesses:

FRANK D. HUNT, HENRY SPLAINE. 

